Leadership feat.

[Dross Swordra]

Hey guys. I don't quite understand how to apply the leadership feat. One of my players has a 12th level paladin with a charisma score of 20. That makes his leadership score a 17. This qualifies him for a cohort level 12. How do you calculate a creature's cohort level? The Monster Manual indicates whether or not a creature qualifies for cohort status in the level adjustment section. Is the level adjustment also the cohort level?
What would a Celestial Charger's cohort level be?

I appreciate any assistance you provide,
-Dross

 

[Crothian]

First, I think a cohort has to be at least 2 levels lower then the character, so even though he can have a 12th level one, he's limited by his level in that regards. But he still gets a lot of followers.

Chort level is the level adjustment. A celestrial charger has 8HD plus a la of +8 making it 16. However, a unicorn is 4HD with a level adjustment of +4, so you could make it an improved Unicorn.

 

[JimAde]

First, I think a cohort has to be at least 2 levels lower then the character, so even though he can have a 12th level one, he's limited by his level in that regards. But he still gets a lot of followers.

Chort level is the level adjustment. A celestrial charger has 8HD plus a la of +8 making it 16. However, a unicorn is 4HD with a level adjustment of +4, so you could make it an improved Unicorn.

You could even add the Celestial Creature template (not Half-Celestial) to the unicorn which adds +2 LA for a total of 10, the maximum your 12th-level character could have. It would gain DR, SR and some other goodies.

Also, just to clarify, I think the (cohort) note in the MM means that the creature would probably not make a good PC, but might be a good cohort. If the creature has no such note I think it means it could make a decent PC OR a good cohort. So there may be other celestial-type creatures he could consider as a cohort.

 

[Christian]

Just a side note: this character's leadership score is actually only 15 for purposes of attracting cohorts, because of the paladin's special mount class feature ... Doesn't end up impacting him generally because of the cap, unless he gets a cohort killed or tries to recruit one that's not Awful Good.

 

[Zandel]

Yes the '(cohort)' note is to say that the creature whould make a good cohort but not such a good PC without a lot of work on the player & dm's part.